K_sqrd

Several years ago there was a gentleman on another forum who smoked his peppers on a Weber Smokey Mountain or WSM. His site is no longer available, but I did find this link at the WayBack.archive site. http://web.archive.org/web/20030801063348/http://www.randyq.addr.com/ The Chipotle info is here... http://web.archive.org/web/20030603185409/http://randyq.addr.com/chiles/chipotles.html Link to Next Page is at the bottom of each page.

WOW! Very impressive work. You have quite a talent.

I purchased a deep dish pizza pan of appropriate size and lined it with foil. Toss the foil after the cook and wash the pan - easy clean up. I've had mine for several years and it works great. You could also just skip the foil and simply wash the pan.

For an inexpensive knife that gets good reviews, take a look at the Victorinox offerings. Cooks Country seems to like them. Here's a link... https://www.knifecenter.com/series/victorinox-kitchen/boning-knives

From this site... https://theonlinegrill.com/how-to-cold-smoke-salmon/ Scroll down to "How to Smoke Salmon" where it states that about 5 hours or 15 - 20% weight loss should be about right for their example. I'd guess that it depends on how thick or large your salmon pieces are. Other sites I searched recommend 3 to 5 hours. but still others say up to 12 hours. Guess it depends on how much smoke you want on the final product. Smoking at a higher temp may cook the fish rather than just smoke it. Since your temp is / was a bit higher, the cook time may be less.

Cold smoking temps are usually done at about 80 Deg. F so your temp is actually a bit high. One thing you could do is put a dish of ice under the fish, with the fish about an inch above the ice to provide a cooler zone. Cold smoked fish is a favorite of mine on a bagel with a smear of cream cheese and some capers. Let us know how they turns out. You might also throttle the Jr. down to a lower temp.

Nice looking Kamado. I have a Kamado with a 13" dia. grate and have used this from Lodge as a heat deflector. https://www.lodgecastiron.com/product/round-serving-griddle?sku=L7OGH3 It works great and has a lip on it to catch any drippings. I don't know what the inside of your Kamado looks like so can't comment on what to use for holding the deflector or adjusting the height. Edit: More info. You might also check into Kiln Shops and see what they have to offer in round shapes. Kiln suppliers have all sorts of hi temp ceramic discs that might fit your needs.

What do you think "tasted off" about it? Too much smoke, bad beef taste, etc.?

Happy Birthday! Hope you have many Happy and Healthy more.

Great idea and nice work. Just a suggestion... weld a rod across the diameter of the top ring and then you could hang things from it for Tacos Al Pastor, Shawarma, roasts, chickens, etc. in addition to tandoor cooking.

If it probes like butter, as you said, it should be fine. As for adjusting the KJ thermo - probably can be done with the nut on the back. Since I don't have a KJ I can't say for sure. Hope someone else with more info can help.

Nice looking brisket. You might want to check the calibration of your thermometers. A simple test is to probe a pot of boiling water. The reading should be ~212 deg. F. It looks like one of them could be off and I suspect it's the KJ thermo. If so, you did a hot and fast cook at 340ish and blew through the stall. That happens when cooking at higher temps.

Fortunately, my wife and I as well as our family, enjoy rare to medium rare steaks and chops. If it's not moving or mooing, it's fair game. LOL! We had some family visit recently and I offered to cook steaks. One guest asked for "well done". My wife opined that she didn't think I know how to do "well done". I did my best and the guest was happy with the result. Guess I lucked out.

Congratulations on some great looking ribs. It didn't take you long to get the hang of cooking on a Kamado. Nice job!

Looks like you have it set up correctly with the charcoal bowl and basket. As for the minor crack, it could be the tile loosening up or the grout dislodging. It's hard to tell with out a closer look. Are you going to use the pizza stone as a heat deflector? If so, you might want to look into kiln shelves available at place that sells pottery supplies. Those shelves are thicker and can stand higher temperatures than a pizza stone.